Exodus 23:21

Exodus 23:21 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.
• New International Version (NIV)Pay attention to him and listen to what he says. Do not rebel against him; he will not forgive your rebellion, since my Name is in him.
• English Standard Version (ESV)Pay careful attention to him and obey his voice; do not rebel against him, for he will not pardon your transgression, for my name is in him.
• New King James Version (NKJV)Beware of Him and obey His voice; do not provoke Him, for He will not pardon your transgressions; for My name is in Him.

Context of Exodus 23:21

19When you cut the first crops from your fields, bring the best food to the house of the Lord your God. Do not cook a young goat in its mother's milk. 20Look! I will send an angel to lead you on your journey. He will keep you safe. He will take you to the place that I have prepared for you. Be careful to obey him. Listen to what he says to you. Do not turn against him. If you do that, he will not forgive you. I have given him my authority. 22So be careful to obey him. Do everything that I tell you. Then I will be the enemy of your enemies. I will fight against anyone who fights against you. 23My angel will go in front of you. He will bring you into the land of the Amorites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Canaanites, the Hivites and the Jebusites. I will destroy them completely.

Exodus 23:21 word by word

הִשָּׁ֧מֶר מִפָּנָ֛יו וּשְׁמַ֥ע בְּקֹל֖וֹ אַל־תַּמֵּ֣ר בּ֑וֹ כִּ֣י לֹ֤א יִשָּׂא֙ לְפִשְׁעֲכֶ֔ם כִּ֥י שְׁמִ֖י בְּקִרְבּֽוֹ׃Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Bewareשָׁמַרshâmar · to keep: carefulH8104
• ofפָּנֶהpânîym · face: beforeH6440
• him, and obeyשָׁמַעshâma‛ · to hear: obeyH8085
• his voiceקוֹלqôl qôl · voiceH6963
• provokeמָרַרmârar · to provokeH4843
• him not; for he will not pardonנָשָׂאnâώâ' nâsâh · to lift: forgiveH5375
• your transgressionsפֶּ֫שַׁעpesha‛ · transgressionH6588
• for my nameשֵׁםshêm · nameH8034
• in himקֶ֫רֶבqereb · entrails: amongH7130

Cross-references for Exodus 23:21

• Psalms 2:12Bend down low in front of his son! If not, the Lord will be angry. He will quickly become very angry. You will suddenly die! But as for those who serve the Lord as their king, he blesses them and he takes care of them all.
• Matthew 17:5While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud appeared. It covered them all. A voice spoke from the cloud and it said, ‘This is my Son and I love him. He makes me very happy. Listen to him.’
• Hebrews 12:25So be careful! Always be ready to listen when God speaks. God used Moses as his servant on the earth to speak to Israel's people. When they refused to obey, God punished them. They could not get away. As for us, God speaks to us from heaven. So we will certainly not get away from God's punishment if we turn away from him.
• Numbers 14:11The Lord said to Moses, ‘These people continue to turn away from me. I did great miracles to show them my power. But still they will not trust me.
• Psalms 78:40When the Israelite people were in the wilderness, they often turned against God. That caused God to be very sad.
• Ephesians 4:30Do not do anything that will make God's Holy Spirit sad. God gave his Holy Spirit to you to show that you belong to him. As a result you know that God will make you completely free one day.
• Hebrews 3:10That is why I became angry with them. I said, “They always want to do what is wrong. They refuse to understand my message.”
• Exodus 32:34Now go! Lead the Israelites to the place that I have told you about. My angel will go in front of you. But on the day for punishment, I will certainly punish them for their sin.’
• Numbers 14:35I, the Lord, have spoken! I will certainly do all these things to punish these evil people. That is because they have all joined together to speak against me. In this desert they will die. Yes, that will be the end of them!” ’
• Deuteronomy 18:19He will speak on my behalf, so I myself will punish anyone who does not listen to his message.
• Joshua 24:19Joshua said to them, ‘The Lord is a holy God. You will not be able to serve him. He wants you to belong to him. If you turn against him or you do not obey him, he will not forgive you.
• Jeremiah 5:7The Lord said, ‘Jerusalem, I have to punish you. Your people have turned away from me. They have served gods that are not true gods. I gave them everything that they needed. But they left me, like a wife who leaves her husband. The men hurry to the houses of prostitutes.
• Hebrews 3:11Because of that, I promised to punish them. Because I was angry with them, I said, “They will never arrive in my special place of rest.” ’
• Hebrews 10:26Now that we have learned what is true, we must continue to believe in Jesus. If we know God's true message, but we still choose to do wrong things, God will not forgive us. There is no other sacrifice that will take away our sins.
• 1 John 5:16If you see that another Christian is doing something bad, this is what you should do. If it is a sin that does not cause death, pray that God will help him. Then God will help that person to live for ever with him. That is for a sin which does not cause death. But there is a sin that causes death. If another Christian does that, I am not saying that you should pray for God to help that person.
• Exodus 3:14God said to Moses, ‘I am who I am! Say this to the Israelite people: “I AM has sent me to you.” ’

Commentaries on Exodus 23:21

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 21He will not pardon your transgressions - He is not like a man, with whom ye may think that ye may trifle; were he either man or angel, in the common acceptation of the term, it need not be said, He will not pardon your transgressions, for neither man nor angel could do it. My name is in him - The Jehovah dwells in him; in him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily; and because of this he could either pardon or punish. All power is given unto me in…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-33Verses 20-33 It is here promised that they should be guided and kept in their way through the wilderness to the land of promise, Behold, I send an angel before thee, mine angel. The precept joined with this promise is, that they be obedient to this angel whom God would send before them. Christ is the Angel of Jehovah; this is plainly taught by St. Paul, 1Co 10:9. They should have a comfortable settlement in the land of Canaan. How reasonable are the…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 20-23an angel: Probably "the angel of the LORD," often representing God himself (see 3:2).Read the comment
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary · v. 20-2520-25. Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way--The communication of these laws, made to Moses and by him rehearsed to the people, was concluded by the addition of many animating promises, intermingled with several solemn warnings that lapses into sin and idolatry would not be tolerated or passed with impunity.Read the comment

Topics related to Exodus 23:21

• Jesus Continued

In the dictionaries

• Angel
• Beware
• Book
• Countenance
• Ingathering
• Refresh
• Seethe
• Turn
• Wrest
• Bible, the

Commentaries on Exodus 23

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Rashi on Tanakh
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• Keil & Delitzsch Commentary
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings